Organic diversity, plant breeding, more expo halls for BIOFACH 2018

An introduction to organic plant and animal breeding, organic product diversity, new food and cosmetic trends, and insight into “the next generation of the organic industry” are some of the highlights at the 2018 edition of the World’s Leading Trade Fair for Organic Food. Boosted by strong single and double-digit sales growth in organics globally, the annual fair will expand by two exhibition halls when it returns from 14 to 17 February 2018, in Nuremberg, Germany.

BIOFACH’s international patron, IFOAM – Organics International, its national supporting organization, the German Federation of the Organic Food Industry (BÖLW), are joining forces with the trade fair to highlight the “Next Generation” theme.

Highlights for 2018 will include the BIOFACH Congress, the OLIVE OIL, VEGAN and WINE Worlds of Experience and the BIOFACH Novelty Stand (located in hall 8 for the first time) with the BIOFACH Best New Product Awards. Altogether, close to 3,000 exhibitors are expected at the next edition of the BIOFACH and VIVANESS duo, with about 250 of these appearing at the International Trade Fair for Natural Personal Care.

Danila Brunner, the BIOFACH, and VIVANESS executive director said: “Thanks to the addition of two halls (4A and 8) and therefore significantly more exhibitors, visitors will have the opportunity to discover and experience an even broader and more diverse range of organic products at our exhibition center in 2018.

"The world-leading trade fair promises a multifaceted focal theme and a practice-oriented, fact-based congress as well as product diversity across ten halls (including VIVANESS)! We are already looking forward to meeting and exchanging ideas with our customers, and to an inspiring next edition of the exhibition duo!”

A new feature in 2018 is an exhibit called “Organic from the Start,” which will focus on breeding plants and animals following organic principles and guidelines. The display will greet exhibitors and visitors in Mitte, the central entrance area at the NuernbergMesse fairgrounds and is prepared by bioverita to give industry professionals an introduction to the topic and to present and discuss alternatives in the field of breeding.

Markus Johann, bioverita’s managing director, noted: “With the ‘Organic right from the start’ special show, we want to acknowledge what organic breeding has already achieved and highlight the areas that require a lot of development work. We are convinced that the organic industry can only continue to develop qualitatively and sustainably if there is independent organic breeding."

At the BIOFACH Congress, the 2018 general main topic is “Next Generation,” while significant events include the BIOFACH Forum, the Sustainability Forum, the Politics Forum, the Science Forum and the Fachhandels Forum.

The 2017 edition of BIOFACH in Germany welcomed a record, 51,453 trade visitors, backed by a positive industry response around a busy fair on the third and fourth days when exhibitors said that the show had met or bettered their expectations.

The previous record was set in February 2015 when 48,533 visitors from 130 countries attended the event.

People traveled to Nuremberg for the annual industry get-together in 2017 from 134 countries, impressed with the range of products offered by the 2,785 exhibitors (259 of these were at VIVANESS) from 88 countries, organizers Nuremberg Messe said.

BIOFACH World is represented across the globe by six other BIOFACH events in Japan, the United States, Brazil, China, India and now also Thailand. For more information, look up: www.biofach.com